IMPORTANT! Please note that this gig has been postponed until Thursday 22 March 2018.

All Together Now is proud to present our first Rock Against Racism gig in Sydney. This music event will take place on the 7th of December at Manning Bar in Camperdown, NSW from 8:00 p.m.

Sydney’s soulful NGAIIRE will be joined at Rock Against Racism by YouTube Creators for Change alumni L-FRESH The LION, who is tackling systemic racism head-on in his Tribeca Film Festival debuted single Raci$t/Our World. The rest of the night will be in the capable and very talented hands of hip hop artist BWISE, captivating songstress THANDI PHOENIX and outspoken Indigenous rapper KAYLAH TRUTH.

2017 has been a polarising year for the topic of identity and race in Australia. With a range of views cutting through the media, Rock Against Racism is designed to bring the national conversation out of the shadows and to provide a safe space that inspires more people to speak out.

“We believe everybody needs to have a good understanding of what racism is so that they feel empowered to act when they witness it, and we know music can be so powerful in that respect,” said Priscilla Brice, All Together Now’s Managing Director. “One in five Australians experienced racism over the past year, and we know from research that one way to reduce this statistic is by all of us challenging racism wherever it occurs.”

Rock Against Racism will take place on December 7th at Sydney’s Manning Bar with an incredible line-up of passionate artists who have maintained a brave stance on the subject.

Rock Against Racism is organised by All Together Now with support from Multicultural NSW and TheMusic.com.au. Funding for Rock Against Racism has been provided by the NSW government.

In order to encourage people to share their own experience, their own thoughts about racism, All Together Now proposes book clubs across Australia. If you are interested in fighting racism, and all kind of discrimination, and also in reading, this Club is made for you.

Every month, we will propose you a new Australian book with new questions to deal with the problem of racism in depth.

Our first book club will be held in Sydney on March 1st at 6pm. For those who are not in Sydney, do not worry, book clubs are planned in Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne. Join the Racial Equality Book Club on MeetUp for updates on meeting dates, times, locations and of course books!

Our first book for the year is the award-winning Populate and Perish, written by George Haddad. The author is Sydney-based and so has volunteered to come to the Sydney book club. The book is under 100 pages, so you still have time to read it and join us!

“Nick is treading water. No boyfriend. No career. Living in a granny flat in Fitzroy North. On a whim he decides to travel with his twin sister, Amira, to Lebanon in search of their estranged father. Their mother, who passed away a couple of years earlier, only ever referred to him as the kalb – the dog. In Beirut Nick and Amira find family, a sense of belonging and surprising answers to questions they hadn’t known to ask.“

One family. Two wars. Three countries. What does it take to forge a new life far from home?

On the 23 November, All Together Now is holding an exclusive screening of Constance On The Edge at the Dendy Opera Quays.

Filmed over ten years, Constance On The Edge is a documentary about a Sudanese refugee family that settled in New South Wales. Constance on the Edge gets to the heart of a contemporary untold story about the courage and resilience it takes to build new lives. The film also highlights the important role communities play in encouraging a sense of welcoming, healing and belonging.

Discover the official trailer here:

Following the screening, a panel with discuss the issues related to racism, belonging and integration that are highlighted in the film, with Belinda Mason, director of the movie, Oishee Alam, antiracism academic, and Vijhai Utheyan, son of Sri Lankan refugees.

“Constance on the Edge is a powerful and beautiful story of a refugee family who will do everything to protect each other while navigating the challenging settlement journey in Australia. It’s a heartwarming film and a reminder that welcoming is the most powerful tool we have.”

Based on the turnout at this week’s Comedy Vs Racism event in Sydney, All Together Now declares this event a success!

Each of the comedians gave a 5-minute performance, and were then joined by the panelists in deconstructing humour, race, and racism. Some of the themes included the expectation that audiences have from comedians of colour, and the power of telling stories about racism in a funny-but-serious way.

I’ve seen the power of the arts to move, to educate, drive change and foster social cohesion many times. I experienced it intensely first hand, when I produced Crossings: Songs from the East in 2013.

The concert showcased a cross-cultural collaboration of traditional and improvised music spanning the Greek, Kurdish, Arabic and Persian traditions. It was an exciting coming-together for the first time of local Sydney-based musicians; four out of the five were first generation Australians from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. They drew from both their musical heritage and their contemporary experience of multicultural Australia.

The audience, which we surveyed, said things like:

“Beautiful to see a coming together of cultures through the arts”…

“Brought back memories of home”…

“Wonderful! Especially watching the musicians improvising – working together… so much richness (and they say multiculturalism doesn’t work)! It is alive and brings so much richness to our lives and to Australia”…

The experience of that production impacted all involved, from the artists to the audience and everyone in between, in ways that only arts and cultural experiences can sometimes – on the level where words cease and only the senses and the human spirit exist. One comes away from an experience like that with a sense that something in them is a little different… a little changed.

As an audience member watching the Sydney Theatre Company’s latest production of The Secret River, I came away with exactly that feeling. I was shattered at the brutality of the story – the brutal truth in the story – but I was compelled to watch and listen.

I felt like I was bearing witness to a history not told often enough. In the author, Kate Grenville’s, words: “This book isn’t history, but it’s solidly based on history. Most of the events in the book “really happened” and much of the dialogue is what people really said or wrote.” Knowing this, I felt the weight of responsibility, like I was almost charged with the duty of carrying this history on, of re-telling it. So I made it my mission for days afterwards to tell everyone I met to go see the show.

It was hard to watch at times. The woman sitting to my left had her eyes closed for much of the massacre scene. It wasn’t explicit or visually disturbing – but it sat in that space – the space where words cease and only the senses exist. Clearly for the woman beside me, her senses were in overwhelm. I was grateful that the night I attended happened to be followed by the Q and A session with the actors and co-director afterwards – it was an opportunity for the audience to re-compose and debrief almost. More than that, it was a way to bring the savage racism of our history into the present.

The discussion that ensued was open and honest. The actors told of their own experiences of facing and witnessing racism today. Actor Ningali Lawford-Wolf told of how she was refused a ride by four taxi drivers on the street just outside the theatre. Richard Piper, who played the most savage of the white characters, talked of how the experience of being a part of this production changed him – made him reflect on times where he had been a bystander to racist incidences and had not acted. He spoke of the need for us all to speak up and take a stand in similar situations, and of his resolve to do differently next time. An audience member asked the questions: “What can we do? How can we do better when we leave this theatre?”. One of the younger cast members, Madeleine Madden, spoke about the power of the arts to move and affect change. Everyone on stage seemed to acknowledge a sort of shared social responsibility to tell the story with authenticity and sensitivity.

I came away with the feeling that the sentiment in that Q and A session was shared company-wide, and with 2 mins of online research I discovered the Sydney Theatre Company’s ‘Human Rights and Social Performance Statement’ As part of STC’s commitment to “operating as a responsible organisation” they state: “STC’s statement on Human Rights and Social Performance reflect our ability to uphold human rights within our organisation and our sphere of influence. We adhere to both international and local human rights legislation and reflect these in our human resources policies, practices and Code of Conduct.” Further down, in relation to audiences and the arts industry, it states: “We share our learning and promote human rights issues through giving voice to social issues by our choices in productions and our industry networks by contributing to conversations.”

This initiative – of writing the importance of social responsibility into the policies and strategic objectives of an organisation – is exactly what we need more of – especially in the arts and cultural industries, whose core ‘business’ is in the creation of meaning.

Go and see The Secret River if you can. Or read the book. Or watch the TV series. And share the story. Continue the conversation. It is our shared responsibility.

If you’re in Sydney on Tuesday 8th March, come along to “Comedy vs Racism”. All Together Now has organised this event in partnership with the City of Sydney as part of the Living in Harmony festival. The event begins at 7PM.

Comedy meets commentary in Comedy vs Racism, when three of Sydney’s funniest writer/performers are joined by an academic activist, a lawyer, and a columnist who writes about race and feminism.

Join us for an hour of laughs followed by a Q & A, with Tasnim Hossain, Suren Jayemanne, Bjorn Stewart, Professor James Arvanitakis, Pallavi Sinha, Ruby Hamad, and host Jennifer Wong.

Between comedy performances, the comedians and panellists will share their thoughts on the role of comedy when it comes to racism in Australia.

Together, we’ll be asking: How powerful is a punchline when it comes to standing against racism? What can comedy do about everyday racism? What conversations do we need to have as Australian audiences, comedy makers, and the media? And can we laugh while we’re having them?

All Together Now aims to prevent racism by promoting racial equality through education. We are Australia's only national charity dedicated to preventing all forms of racism in Australia.

ABN: 74 144 510 556

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PEOPLE REVIEWS

H

aving experienced the negative effects of racism before, I found great value in aligning myself with an organization that has its prevention as a top priority.

Andy Minh Trieu

SBS Pop Asia,

T

here is no place for racism in Australian football or the broader community and that is something I’m really passionate about.

Bruce Djite

Adelaide United Striker,

H

aving experienced the negative effects of racism before I found great value in aligning myself with an organization that has its prevention as a top priority. Through promoting and participating in All Together Now initiatives I have found the conversation of racism has spread through my networks. My friends that Identify with the issue are now more open to speak out about it.